8/10/2007

Photo: A woman tries to retrieve a part of her house destroyed by floods at Char Kazla in the Bogra district, about 230km ( 144miles) from the capital Dhaka, July 30, 2007. With floodwater pouring in through their windows, thousands of people affected by South Asia's deadly deluge are being forced to share the limited high ground with venomous snakes, surrounded by filthy water. REUTERS/ Rafiqur Rahman (BANGLADESH)

The death toll from the worst monsoon floods to hit South Asia in decades passed 2000 Thursday even as torrents of muddy water receded from millions of hectares of farmland and rains shifted west. Thousands of villages remained under water and threatened by disease, while millions were still displaced, mainly in India and Bangladesh, where the severe floods also destroyed valuable crops. Rains appeared to be returning to western states, which were hit hard in early July, and heavy downpours in Gujarat since Monday have killed nine people. The devastation in India threatens an entire season's crops in some areas, raising fears of food shortages.